Question on DS Charger

[hrk]

Have an 03 DS, IIRC every time it is plugged into the cart the meter should make a click sound, the meter will jump up, then if it needs charging it stays on, if not, it will turn off.

The last couple of times we've plugged it in the meter isn't moving at all, no click sound.

Just wondering if it's me misremembering what it should do, or, if there is something else I should be looking at, it's worked fine since 03, always garaged, charger is inside never outside.

[Walrus]

My PowerDrive2 charger clicks on, meter jumps to the middle for a few seconds to do a test, clicks off for a few seconds, and then clicks back on and starts charging.

[Brian Baker]

Possibly the OBC, there are a few threads about resetting them although I have never had any luck.
You can replace it and use your current charger or bypass it and obtain a smart charger.
Could be something else but have done both of the above several times.

[kgsc]

Open the charger cover and with it unplugged from the cart and wall bypass the relay in the charger. Plug it in the cart then the wall. If the charger comes on and starts charging then there is a problem with the cart/obc. If it doesn’t do anything check the charger for bad fuses.

[hrk]

OK finally got back to it, SIL has a Club Car, plugged our charger into her cart and it works. Our cart into her working charger and her charger doesn't come on.

So from what I've read it's the OBC. Is there anything to check outside of the fuse in the yellow connector, which appears to be good.

Where's a good place to get an OBC, or, should we skip that and go with an on board charger like the Lester Summit 2 and bypass the whole OBC, the Lester also gives you BT app connectivity with data on the charger as well.

[Fairtax4me]

First check pack voltage on the cart, and all battery connections on the cart. You should have pack voltage above 35v in order for the charger to turn on. If pack voltage is below that you may have a bigger issue.
Make sure the red + wire from the battery pack main positive to the charge receptacle is good, and not corroded or burned.
Check the wires where they go into the receptacle for damage corrosion or fraying.
It's common for the Grey wire to corrode inside the receptacle and not make contact. Give the grey wire a light tug and see if it feels loose or pulls out of the receptacle.
Check the Main fuse in the receptacle that the Black wires are attached to.
Last thing to check is the Black wires where they go into the OBC. The mid 2000 era carts often have a spade connector where the Black wire joins to the OBC, and also check the connection of the black wire from the OBC to the B- terminal on the controller for corrosion or damage.

If all that checks out good and you have full pack volage over 35v getting to the Red wire at the receptacle, then it's most likely the OBC failed.

What do to then may depend on your budget and your preference.
An OBC for that cart will probably be around $300 new.
https://www.revolutiongolfcars.com/obc

A Summit II charger is closer to $500 new, maybe more depending where you get it.

Personally I like the Summit IIs, I have several that have held up well, but the thing to remember with those is they have no replaceable parts inside. So if it quits working it has to be replaced. Lester has a 4 year warranty on them.

Something I've noticed here is that a lot of people are confused by the Bluetooth app. Especially the State of Charge, battery pack voltage detection, and charge time calculations. If you get a S2 don't look too closely at any of those because the first dozen or so charge cycles those numbers will be all over the place.
Programming is pretty simple otherwise, and it can be used as an off-board or on-board charger depending on your preference.

[hrk]

Thanks, batteries are new, voltage is good, sounds like the OBC, will go through the connections tonight and see if there is any issue there before buying an OBC or Lester II

[Brian Baker]

Look at the for sale/trade section here, a fellow has a couple of obc’s for sale or at least did a few days ago.

[LukeL]

I have some OBCs. Not sure the drive system of your cart.

[hrk]

Cart is a 2003 Club Car, 48 volt stock cart.

I need to run some tests for the OBC see if the reason it's not signaling the charger, see if it's something else that might not be allowing the connection properly to signal the OBC..

Originally Posted by Fairtax4me

First check pack voltage on the cart, and all battery connections on the cart. You should have pack voltage above 35v in order for the charger to turn on. If pack voltage is below that you may have a bigger issue.

Make sure the red + wire from the battery pack main positive to the charge receptacle is good, and not corroded or burned.

Check the wires where they go into the receptacle for damage corrosion or fraying.

It's common for the Grey wire to corrode inside the receptacle and not make contact. Give the grey wire a light tug and see if it feels loose or pulls out of the receptacle.

Check the Main fuse in the receptacle that the Black wires are attached to.
Last thing to check is the Black wires where they go into the OBC. The mid 2000 era carts often have a spade connector where the Black wire joins to the OBC, and also check the connection of the black wire from the OBC to the B- terminal on the controller for corrosion or damage.